1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for creating document data.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been known an approach to creating document data formed with image data, text data, and the like with the help of a plurality of layout models that include layout frames (e.g., rectangular frames) indicative of specific positions into which data is to be inserted. A user selects a desired one from the layout models, and inserts a desired piece of data into each of the layout frames of the selected layout model. Thus, the user can easily create presentable document data.
However, if there are many layout models, it can take a considerable time to select desired one from among the layout models, and some users may feel it troublesome to select the desired layout model. To overcome the problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-93862 discloses a conventional method of reading an original containing one or more frames, and automatically selecting a layout model including the same number of layout frames as the rectangular frames in the original. However, the conventional method has difficulty in recognizing certain frames, especially, in recognizing handwritten frames, frames with waving lines, or frames with discontinuous lines.
Moreover, the conventional method is not designed to determine, if there is a plurality of layout models including the same number of layout frames, which one is similar to the original layout.